epilepsy research, and the loss that people have suffered because of epilepsy is far greater than a mustache that perhaps i can grow back some day. so, i'm more than happy to give that up in order to advance this cause. >> today's the day! >> oh, yeah, i'm excited! >> we have the countdown, because you know, this is big, breaking news. >> yeah. >> and so, we want to take big, breaking news -- >> do you have the straight razor or me? >> about 90 minutes, we're going to go in from each side. >> each side. >> uh huh, and we're going to remove david axelrod's mustache. >> i'm not going to cut my side. >> no. >> i'm going to let you cut yours. >> you know what? he's not going to grow it back, because it's kind of outdated. good morning, everyone, mika brzezkinski here with joe scarborough, and this is "way too early." thanks for being up with us this morning. >> we have a lot to talk about this friday, december 7th, a day which will live in ifnfainfamy, including a new request from

speaker boehner that could actually bring both sides together on the fiscal cliff. >> good, lord, is that possible? also, president morsi sends in tanks to keep the peace as violent protests rage in cairo. we'll have a live report from the region. >> i'll tell you what, it is a mess in egypt, the parties starting to fight each other, meet the new pharaoh, same as the old pharaoh, unbelievable. >> we have full coverage on that coming up, but first, let's get the news live at 5:30 a.m. at 30 rock in new york city. the effort to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff is now a two-man operation. president obama and speaker boehner. thank you. nobody else will be in the room. with 24 days before a year-end deadline, "the new york times" says boehner made the request to clear the negotiation room going forward, leaving it up to himself and the president to reach a deal to avoid automatic tax hikes and deep spending cuts. and while the two men may be negotiating privately, yesterday the president took his mess dwrooj the public, visiting a local virginia family as a part of his social media campaign.

while sitting around the kitchen table, he told the family he felt optimistic. >> the message that i think we all want to send to members of congress is this is a solvable problem. the senate has already passed a bill that would make sure the middle class taxes do not go up next year by a single dime. just to be clear, i'm not going to sign any package that somehow prevents the top rate from going up for folks at the top 2%, but i do remain optimistic that we can get something done that is good for families like this one and that is good for the american economy. >> an added wrinkle to the fiscal cliff talks is the debt ceiling, with the government on pace to reach its borrowing limit early next year. the white house stated its position on the 14th amendment, which some theory rise is a way for the president to raise the debt limit independently, should republicans attempt to use it as

a negotiating tool. >> i can say that this administration does not believe that the 14th amendment gives the president the power to ignore the debt ceiling, period. >> the fiscal cliff talks reached a new low yesterday when, somehow, the new york jets got dragged into it on the senate floor. >> it's not one of my favorite teams, but it's really, really fun to watch, and that's the new york jets. coach ryan, he's got a problem. he has three quarterbacks, sanchez, he's got tim tebow, he's got another guy. he can't decide who their quarterback is going to be. that's the same problem republicans are having. romney's gone, but he's still in the background. we have mcconnell and we have boehner. who is the quarterback, mr. president? who is the quarterback? >> there's some confusion about who the quarterback is on the

republican side. that is, of course, quite common when you don't have the white house, but there's no doubt about who the quarterback is on the democratic side. the quarterback on the democratic side is the president of the united states. and unfortunately, he keeps throwing interceptions, and we're moving backward and backward and backward towards the goal line. >> i have a headache. >> should they not be talking about football? yeah. >> it's not working. new york jets owner woody johnson, of course -- >> woody! >> a mitt romney guy. >> yeah, woody. >> that was a cringer. harry reid, come on now. >> it's not right for harry reid to kick the jets around. that's a cheap shot. we can do it. you can't. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, you just saw him there talking on the floor, he actually found himself, well, in unusual territory thursday. he actually had to filibuster himself. >> no, no, he can't. >> yesterday, senator mcconnell

brought a bill to the floor to give the president greater power to raise the debt limit without support. but harry reid called his bluff, agreeing to a straight up-or-down vote. that then forced the minority lead y leader to filibuster his own bill. >> what we have here is a case of republicans here in the senate once again not taking yes for an answer. this morning, republican leader asked consent to have a vote on this proposal, because now i told everyone that we're willing to have that vote, up-or-down vote. now the republican leader objects to his own idea, so i guess we have a filibuster his own bill, so i object. >> is there objection to the original request? >> yeah, object. >> objection is heard. got whiplash. in a surprise announcement also coming out of the senate yesterday, tea party favorite

and conservative icon senator jim demint, one of the most powerful republicans in washington, he's from south carolina, well, he says he's stepping down from the senate next month. the 61-year-old republican is leaving his job to become president of the heritage foundation, a powerful conservative think tank. he actually says he'll have more influence on conservative principles. >> the idea of going to the heritage foundation, which is the premier conservative think tank in our country, and leveraging their assets to communicate to all americans that we can make their lives better, this is a dream job for me, and it's critically important. i don't think republicans will win another national election unless conservatives first convince americans that our principles work. i think i'm in a more powerful position than a single united states senator. i wouldn't feel good about leaving if we didn't have so many new, bright, young conservatives now in the senate. >> with jim demint leaving, it's now going to be up to south

carolina governor nikki haley to determine who the next senator from that state's going to be. she said she's not going to appoint herself to that seat. a lot of people are talking about the possibility of tim scott. that would mean he would be the first african-american senator in the republican party from south carolina, certainly, since reconstruction and the first african-american in the senate in two years. well, last night, south carolina native stephen colbert said he had an idea who should fill the seat, and it wasn't tim scott. >> who will she pick? let's see, you want somebody young, somebody conservative, somebody from south carolina, maybe somebody who had a super pac. wait a second. [ cheers and applause ] watch where you point that thing, it's powerful! okay. new jersey governor chris christie visited the white house yesterday, making his case to

president obama to get more federal aid for victims of hurricane sandy. president obama's expected to ask congress for an additional $50 billion to help states hit by the october storm, but christie says sandy will cost new jersey alone up to $37 billion. new york governor andrew cuomo and new york city mayor michael bloomberg also made similar trips to d.c. recently to push for more federal support. after a delay noted by none other than "the new york times's" maureen dowd, secretary of state hillary clinton is coming to the defense of u.n. ambassador susan rice, calling her a stalwart colleague. rice is seen as a top pick to succeed clinton in the state department, but is under attack by republicans who accuse her of misleading the public in the aftermath of the september 11th attacks at the u.s. consulate in benghazi. >> and it's important to remember what susan said was based on the information that

had been given to every senior official in our administration, and she made very clear in her appearances that the information was subject to change as more facts were gathered and analyzed by the intelligence community. and look, as is often the case, our understanding evolved over time. and we've done our best to keep the american people and the congress informed. that was her goal, that was her mission and she should not be criticized for doing exactly that. >> that, of course, comes in direct conflict with what general david petraeus, the director of the cia, told the committee in the senate where he said they knew immediately after the attack, the next day, that it was, in fact, an attack launched by al qaeda. now, speaking to reporters in ireland on one of her last trips as secretary of state, hillary laughed off questions about a potential presidential run in 2016, saying she's just too busy

with her current job to think long term. >> i'm right now too focused on what i'm doing to complete all the work we have ahead of us before i do step down, and i am frankly looking forward to returning to living a life that enjoys a lot of simple pleasures and gives me time for family and friends and other pursuits. >> but as we told you yesterday, the majority of americans are hoping clinton doesn't stay out of politics for too long. the latest abc news/"washington post" poll shows 57% would vote for clinton in a 2016 presidential bid. turning now to news overseas. all eyes are on two tense situations developing by the hour that could have serious implications for the united states. in syria, with the assad regime growing increasingly desperate, intelligence reports indicate that a chemical attack against his own people could be imminent. even russia, syria's most powerful ally, is alarmed.

their foreign minister met yesterday with secretary clinton, discussing the possibility of a syria without assad in power. this morning, rebels have declared damascus's airport a military target, warning civilians and airlines not to approach it. and in egypt, tanks and barbed wire barricades returned to the streets of cairo as deadly protests raged outside the presidential palace. egyptian president mohamed morsi is calling for a national dialogue but is resolute about his controversial constitution. nbc's ayman mohyeldin is joining us live from cairo monitoring the situation. let's start with egypt. how much more trouble is morsi in there? >> reporter: well, he's definitely politically isolated because all of egypt's major political factions have really come out against him for both the constitutional decree that gave him absolute powers nearly two weeks ago and kicked off all of these protests, but more importantly, they're very upset with him that he's trying to ram home this constitution that was drafted by an assembly made up

mostly of islamist parties loyal to the president within just two weeks. so, that's fueled a lot of the street anger, left six people killed. it also brought out the military outside of the presidential palace. today, the opposition is calling for another million man march. no doubt, though, that the president's politically isolated and under mounting public pressure. mika? >> let's go back to syria. you've been following that situation since it began last year. assad's grip obviously slipping, but what about the potential of the use of chemical weapons on his own people? >> reporter: well, there's two major problems here for the u.s. and the international community. one, if he does use chemical weapons, the kind of destruction that would already inflict on the people of syria, how they would be treated, but there is also growing concerns that he may not necessarily use them as his official line coming out of damascus says, but more importantly, what happens if these weapons fall into rogue elements within some of the rebel movement once he does fall, once the regime does fall

and they're no longer able to secure these stockpiles? according to a western intelligence estimate, it's going to take about 70,000 troops to try and preserve these weapons from falling into the wrong hands, and everyone knows when regimes fall in the arab world, there's a tremendous amount of chaos afterwards. that could be a major concern for the u.s. and international community if these weapons fall into some of these rebels' hands. mika? >> ayman mohyeldin live in cairo, thank you. as wall street always lets us now why you're awake -- >> wall street? >> i kind of thought we were going to business. >> well, actually, we had it up there. t.j. was talking in my ear, says he's got a question for you. >> oh, great. >> he'll ask during the break. >> oh, god. purple, purple. >> as always, we want to know why are you awake? shoot us an e-mail or tweet us. we're going to be reading the best responses later in the show. unfortunately, by that time, hr will be here and we will have already dragged t.j. out. still ahead on "way too

early," peyton manning, this guy's on fire! the denver broncos as well. they looked like super bowl contenders, and last night they went for their eighth straight win taking on the oakland raiders. we've got highlights from "thursday night football," straight ahead in sports. and governor chris christie drops by "the daily show," where jon stewart asks him what he really thinks -- >> oh, that will be good. >> -- about barack obama. that story and a check on the weather when we come right back. the planes coming in for the attack. they had sneaked in from aircraft carriers lying 275 miles along. most of us had never heard of pearl harbor before the bulletins broke, but we've never forgotten where we were when we heard that news. ♪ if it wasn't for you

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♪ live look at times square on this friday morning, and we are counting down to slashing the stash. that's going to happen during "morning joe." right now, let's get a check on your weather from nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer. dylan? >> well, it is okay out there right now. yesterday it was kind of a shock to the system in the northeast as the cold air surged back in, but today we're actually going to see some rain. right now, most of the rain is still located back through the great lakes, heavy rain at that, moving into eastern ohio and southwestern pennsylvania. pittsburgh now about to see some heavier rain. and right in the middle of pennsylvania, we are seeing freezing rain mix in. but as far as the northeast itself is concerned, not too much rain just yet. that will push in a little bit later on today. temperatures starting off only in the 20s and 30s. your windchill, though, is down in the lower 20s. up into connecticut, although not much wind in new york city right now. we are going to see some showers start to work in a little later on today, nothing too heavy, but

they'll last through the night and into the start of the weekend. saturday will start off a little bit damp, but it should start to clear up a little bit later saturday afternoon. joe and mika? >> all right. thank you so much, dylan. now it is time for sports. peyton manning and the broncos looking for their eighth straight win last night against the raiders. first quarter in oakland, peyton manning drops back and connects with joel dreessen for the score. broncos take an early 7-0 lead. raiders down by nine in the third quarter. carson palmer trying to convert on third down, but -- >> poor carson. >> -- von miller comes around the edge and forces the fumble. broncos recover at the 2 yard line, and two plays later, knowshon moreno punches it in from a yard out to extend the broncos' lead. denver wins its eighth straight by a final of 26-13 with a 10-3 record. the broncos are currently the number two seed in the afc. >> they look good! you know who else looks good? >> who looks good, joe? >> the new york knicks! to the nba now, knicks on the

road against defending champ miami heat. new york is of course without carmelo anthony. raymond felton for tyson chandler, there for the finish. five seconds left in the half, felton hits the three-pointer, this one going in. at halftime it was tied. but in the third quarter, knicks started to pull away. felton finds room behind the arc and knocks down the jumper from three again. the knicks hit 18 three-pointers in the game and blow out the defending champions and lebron, 112-92. knicks have won five straight in a row, have the best record in the east and this is the second time they have beaten the heat by more than 20 points. >> not bad. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," it's mano a mano over the fiscal cliff as speaker boehner requests one-on-one negotiations with the president. can the two men strike a deal without outside help?

>> yep. and when we come back, we're going it huddle around the water cooler. chris christie faces off against jon stewart. it's jersey boy versus jersey boy, when "way too early" comes right back with sweet lou. or that printing in color had to cost a fortune. nobody said an all-in-one had to be bulky. or that you had to print from your desk. at least, nobody said it to us. introducing the business smart inkjet all-in-one series from brother. easy to use. it's the ultimate combination of speed, small size, and low-cost printing. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind

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♪ all right, enough with the

real moves, let's send it to a guy who's never been able to offer to cut his mustache off because -- >> he can't grow one. >> -- he's never been able to grow one. you know how they say grow your own? >> oh, god. >> all i can say, tgif. maybe you and i -- >> can you do a turn? >> hold on, hold on let's see that turn again. >> okay, here we go. >> ready, and go. three, two, one, and now lewis bergdorf -- >> i was thinking since it's friday, maybe -- >> well, hello there! >> -- you and i could go out and get a beer mano a mano. >> he's making fun of me now. that works for him. >> we told you earlier in the show that new jersey governor chris christie's trip to washington yesterday to ask for more hurricane sandy aid. afterwards, he stopped by "the daily show" set. jon stewart asked christie about his changing attitude toward president obama, specifically the criticism he offered before hurricane sandy and then the praise he gave the president after the storm when he

complimented obama's leadership style. let's take a look at the clip. >> the week before the storm, you were out there, president obama couldn't lead his way out of a paper bag with a fistful of money in the tank -- [ laughter ] and then right after the storm was over, you were like, this man is a leader. [ laughter ] like, doesn't that -- [ applause ] doesn't that tell you something about the game? what does that tell you about the game? >> what it tells me is that people have different skill sets at different times. that's what it tells me. >> i see. so, so, he wasn't a leader until you needed leadership. >> maybe it's until he was presented with a stark opportunity to lead. >> an opportunity. >> and of course, the governor -- >> oh, god. >> come on! >> boss legend bruce springsteen, christie, who explains he's a major fan, explains he's running with the new jersey native after nbc's hurricane sandy telethon. >> i was on stage afterwards talking to steve van zandt and

max weinberg, and then all of a sudden, they were looking behind me, they moved away and stopped talking. so, i turned around. there he was. >> and there he was. >> there he was. >> and he gave you -- >> and he came up and put his hand out, so i shook his hand, i tried to be cool. >> sure. >> i wasn't. and then he said, "come on, give me a hug," and i said, all right, and i hugged him, and -- >> then did he go, come on, stop, let me go! >> no. you know, that's always hard to judge, right? stop the man hug? you know, it's hard, but -- >> did you give -- you've got to give also this, the pat, or did you just go slow dance? >> no, i went slow dance. >> you've got to be kidding me. >> i did, i went slow dance, i did. >> no pat? >> no pat, i went slow dance. but then he said the most amazing thing to me. he said, "it's official, we're friends." >> oh, wow! that's nice. that's nice. >> i appreciate that. i appreciate christie admits his bromance. that's a good thing.

>> okay. >> now, it wouldn't be cooler without lindsay lohan, an update on her. >> i love lindsay. >> she's addressing her money woes and also is hitting the road. she's reportedly selling all of heir worldly possessions, mainly her wardrobe and high-end vintage wear. and she's actually going to get on the road with a boy band, which i think is a great idea. so, she's promoting, selling her stuff. >> i love it. you know, lewis, i've got an idea. >> yeah. >> okay, so, we've done this telethon, sort of a telethon for our good friend, david axelrod, the mustache -- >> we're going to get rid of the mustache during "morning joe." >> why don't we offer to cut something off of somebody else for lindsay lohan? are you volunteering? >> what are you talk being? >> well, i think we should do a fund-raiser for lindsay lohan. >> what exactly are you cutting off? >> cut his eyebrows off! i love it. >> i know you're not going to

touch this beautiful cloth of hair here. all right, still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? i say we shave his eyebrows off, raise money for lindsay lohan. >> oh, wow. >> your texts and e-mails are next with "morning joe" now just moments away. the financial obss military families face, we understand. at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help. with his wife, danielle, almost every weekend. derrell hasn't been able to visit his mom back east in a long time. [ shirley ] things are sometimes a little tight around the house. i wasn't able to go to the wedding. [ emily jo ] since derrell couldn't get home, we decided to bring home to him and then just gave him a little bit of help finding his way.

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